Police officers routinely handcuff and remove handcuffs from suspects, during daylight and at night. Conventional handcuffs include a pair of arms that latch together when one arm is telescoped inside the other. A second locking mechanism includes a slot on the side of the handcuffs that exposes a latching element. To double lock the handcuffs, a locking pin is required to pass through the slot and manipulate the latching element. A standard locking pin is about 0.10" in diameter and at least about 0.25" long.
Although the procedures of police departments differ, it is considered sound practice to double lock the handcuffs on anyone being transported for a substantial distance or time. A transporting officer sometimes discovers that a suspect has a standard handcuff key and is surprised to find the person uncuffed. An unattended handcuffed person with a handcuff key can unlock a set of handcuffs even if the double lock is locked.
To remove a standard handcuff that is single or double locked, a standard handcuff key is required. The standard handcuff key is L-shaped with relatively sharp corners and edges and can be used to unlock any set of standard handcuffs. To unlock single locked handcuffs, the key is inserted in the key slot and turned counter-clockwise. This unlocks a single locked standard handcuff.
To remove double locked handcuffs, the standard handcuff key is inserted in the key slot and turned clockwise. This releases the double lock mechanism. The office then turns the key counter-clockwise to unlock the single lock mechanism thereby releasing the cuff. This is done on each cuff to remove the handcuffs.
A typical officer has a handcuff key that includes a locking pin, generally loose in a pocket or on a key ring. The key and pin are easy to lose or misplace, particularly when handled at night because they can be dropped and thereby disappear.
Disclosures relevant to the disclosure of this invention are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,863,062; 4,302,797; 4,864,474; 5,181,927; 5,460,022; 5,541,817; 5,568,741; 5,704,236; 5,713,656; 5,772,308; 5,730,013; 5,826,969; 5,845,986 and 5,937,680.